Edi Rama

Faqja Zyrtare e Kryeministrit të Republikës së Shqipërisë

[Edi Rama @ediramaal]

But perhaps the most revealing detail is also the simplest one.

A remarkable number of reports do not even distinguish between an island and a private piece of land on the mainland.

The protest itself concerns the latter.

Not the former.

In fact, there is currently no significant public controversy in Albania regarding the island itself.

Yet countless articles, posts and commentaries merge the two into a single narrative, creating confusion where precision should exist and emotion where facts should prevail.

Disagreement is legitimate.

Criticism is legitimate.

Questions are legitimate.

Environmental concerns are legitimate.

Public scrutiny is legitimate.

What is not legitimate is replacing facts with assumptions, assumptions with certainties and certainties with collective outrage.

What is not legitimate is treating allegations as facts, speculation as evidence and fears as conclusions.

And when highly respected media outlets stop making basic distinctions, when they no longer separate what exists from what does not, what is proposed from what is approved, what is being debated from what is merely imagined, they do not simply misinform.

They contribute to the erosion of reality itself.

And that should concern every democracy.

Because this is how trust in institutions is gradually destroyed.

This is how trust in mainstream politics is corroded.

This is how the ground is prepared for demagogues, charlatans and professional merchants of outrage.

This is how calls for the destruction of political opponents become normalised.

This is how cries of “traitors”, “enemies of the people” and even demands for death and vengeance become amplified and legitimised.

This is how the old ghosts of fanaticism return wearing new digital clothes.

This is how fascism reinvents itself for the age of algorithms.

Albania will survive this.

We will continue our journey.

We will continue transforming our country into a shining destination for high-end tourism, a stronger democracy and a proud member of the European family.

But this story should matter far beyond Albania.

Because others may see in it a glimpse of what is coming.

We live in a time when democratic societies are investing billions to shield themselves from long-range missiles, drones and external threats.

And that is wise.

But shielding our countries from missiles will mean very little if we fail to shield the souls of our countries and the minds of our young people from the industrial-scale manipulation, hatred and lies that arrive every day from a distance far shorter than any missile can travel:

The distance between a smartphone screen and a human mind.

Because if we lose that battle, we may eventually discover that we have protected our land borders while allowing the foundations of our democratic societies to collapse from within.

And then there may be very little left worth protecting at all.

[Edi Rama @ediramaal]

To @CNN International and to all the endless media outlets, big and small, together with all the well-meaning content producers of Facebook, X, Instagram, TikTok and every other platform that now shapes the global conversation, I would very much wish to pass the following post:

As we speak, today’s protest has drawn roughly 2,000 participants. It is the lowest turnout so far, but even at its peak, participation never exceeded 8,000 people.

So how is it that what much of the world has seen over the past days appears so enormous, so dramatic, so overwhelming?

At some point, when the engineered digital hysteria of these days has passed and emotions have cooled, the democratic world should take a closer look at how the gap between reality and its representation became so vast.

Not merely as a matter of this particular case, but as a symptom of something much larger.

How could a tiny country become global news for reasons so disconnected from the reality on the ground?

How could a local protest involving a few thousand people be transformed into an international spectacle?

How could assumptions become facts, narratives become verdicts, and speculation become accepted truth before the basic facts were even established?

And perhaps most importantly, what does it say about our information ecosystem when perception can travel around the world faster than reality itself?

Because the reality is that there is no project yet.

There is no building permit yet.

There is no construction yet.

There is not even a final design yet.

There is only a vision and a plan: to transform Albania into the most attractive high-end tourism destination in this part of the world, while creating a net positive environmental development that, according to the current vision, would ultimately result in approximately 25% more trees and green space than exists today, alongside measurable improvements across multiple biodiversity indicators.

The ambition is not merely to build.

The ambition is to demonstrate that development and environmental enhancement can go hand in hand.

That is precisely why some of the world’s leading experts in ecology, biodiversity, landscape architecture, environmental engineering and sustainable tourism are working on these concepts and parameters.

Whether they succeed or fail is a matter for future assessment, science, public scrutiny and transparent debate.

But presenting as an environmental catastrophe something that does not yet exist, has not yet been designed, has not yet been permitted, and whose stated objective is in fact to produce positive environmental outcomes, is not a serious contribution to public discussion.

And yet, from this simple reality emerged a hurricane of digital hysteria, apocalyptic headlines, manufactured outrage and sweeping conclusions presented as established facts.

Along the way came deepfakes, manipulated images, fabricated claims, coordinated amplification, anonymous networks and online behaviour that bears many of the characteristics of the hybrid information warfare that increasingly shapes public debate across democratic societies.

Even more remarkably, social media platforms recorded an explosion in activity around this topic, with Albanian-language engagement increasing several-fold within just a few days. A significant part of this sudden surge appears to have been driven not by an organic expansion of public participation, but by the rapid proliferation of newly created profiles, anonymous accounts and pages with little or no identifiable history, raising legitimate questions about artificial amplification and the manufacturing of digital momentum.

[Edi Rama @ediramaal]

Gjatë një operacioni kurajoz për kapjen e një të shumëkërkuari, që prej vitesh i fshihej ligjit në malet e Korçës dhe në mënyrë të përsëritur kishte arritur t’u ikte rrethimeve të forcave të rendit, ka humbur jetën një efektiv policie e është plagosur një i dytë, ndërkohë që pasi ka hapur zjarr ndaj tyre u plagos dhe u kap edhe krimineli!

Nderim përjetë dëshmorit të atdheut, ngushëllime familjes dhe shërim të shpejtë efektivit tjetër🇦🇱

Ndëshkim maksimal për të shumëkërkuarin dhe respekt maksimal për Policinë e Shtetit, që nuk do të ndalet asnjëherë në misionin e saj🙏

[Edi Rama @ediramaal]

Të anulloj projektin? Për këtë i thirrët në protestë njerëzit e mirë që ju erdhën pas edhe sot?

Dakord jam, ma sillni projektin dhe e anullojmë! Po si i bëhet që ju s’keni çfarë sillni sepse nuk ka projekt?

E dini pse nuk ka projekt?

Sepse projekti po punohet nga pesë studio ndër më prestigjozet në botë! Klikoni Kengo Kuma (Japoni) Bjarke Ingels (Danimarkë) Jean Nouvel (Francë) Emre Arolat (Turqi) K-Studio (Greqi) dhe njihuni me autorët e projektit arkitektonik.

Së shpejti, kur projekti të jetë gati, patjetër do ta prezantojmë publikisht, siç bëjmë gjithnjë me projektet e mëdha të arkitektëve ndërkombëtarë, aq më tepër për një investim historik si ky.

Kështu që më vjen keq, po s’kemi projekt për të anulluar.

Po me “Izraelin që ka marrë Zvërnecin për ta bërë geto palestineze”, akoma do vazhdoni?

Pra do t’i keqpërdorni akoma ndjenjat e qytetarëve të mirë, pa dallim feje e ideje, që e duan megjithë zemër Shqipërinë dhe natyrën e saj? Ata dalin në rrugë për këtë ndjenjë të prekur nga manipulimet tuaja për gjoja shkatërrimin e natyrës, po kurrësesi jo për të fyer kujtimin legjendar të gjyshërve tanë muslimanë e të krishterë, që i dhanë Shqipërisë vendin e nderit në Luftën e Dytë Botërore, duke i mbrojtur hebrenjtë me jetën e tyre!

Ata duhet ta dinë të vërtetën e bukur, se bashkëinvestitorët e sipërmarrjes më të madhe turistike në Mesdheun e sotëm të Europës, atje në Zvërnec, janë miq të çmuar amerikanë të Shqipërisë dhe miq nga Katari, këta të fundit bashkëpronarët e konglomeratit gjigand Power Holding - pra nga një vend që nuk ka asnjë marrëdhënie me Izraelin, por që ndryshe nga shejtanët trushpëlarë e brutalë që duan të mbrojnë Zvërnecin nga pushtimi i Izraelit, ata janë muslimanë vizionarë e të përulur ndaj Allahut e ndaj punës! Klikoni https://t.co/6vYpiZZfXn që ta shikoni se çfarë dëmi po i bëni Shqipërisë, duke u treguar mosmikpritës ndaj një investimi 4 miliardë Euro, i cili do të realizohet prej kompanisë “Assets”, pjesë e Power Holding! Klikoni, klikoni.

Po mirë, si do ta mbani gjallë me të njëjtat gënjeshtra këtë luftën tuaj të stisur me shpifje dhe me manipulime apo mendoni se ata mes jush, që më kanë besuar e votuar mua, do ju besojnë e ndjekin qorrazi deri kur ju të realizoni planin për të cilin jeni paguar, trainuar, orkestruar, madje jo nga një usta, po nga ustallarë të ndryshëm, të cilëve nuk u dhimbset natyra e Zvërnecit, po e duan Shqipërinë tokë të djegur për investimet e mëdha që dallojnë Ligën e Kampionëve me kategoritë e dyta e të treta të destinacioneve turistike?! Madje më keq, e duan në gjunj siç ishin mësuar deri dje, jo në këmbë e me kokën lart siç është, e lëre pastaj me kurorën e princeshës së turizmit mesdhetar…

Do shohim, e vërteta vonon po nuk harron dhe gënjeshtrat tuaja kanë nisur që sot t’i nxjerrin këmbët e shkurtëra.

[Edi Rama @ediramaal]

My dear @atsipras

I hope you are in great shape.

Sorry to bother, but I wanted to share my amazement at how quickly even your new party has contributed to transforming a completely isolated incident into a matter of broader political significance, dismissing established facts while emphasizing half-truths, which are often the most misleading form of falsehood - especially when infused with nationalist flavour, I must say!

The unfortunate and regrettable incident in Zvërnec did not occur during a normal protest for property rights. It took place in a context of heightened tension fueled by extensive misinformation, accompanied by repeated attempts to obstruct the lawful activities of highly reputable international private investors, operating on privately owned land that they acquired from legitimate owners holding valid property titles, in full compliance with Albanian law.

Any injury to any individual, Albanian, Greek or otherwise, is regrettable. The circumstances were clarified swiftly, leading to the arrest of the private security personnel responsible, the revocation of their company’s operating licence, and the dismissal of the Vlora police director.

What more would you expect, Alexis, and what additional measures would you have taken as Prime Minister under these circumstances? My recollection suggests that, had our positions been reversed, your response would likely have been far less decisive. But that is not the point.

The point is that it is neither fair nor responsible to transform an isolated incident into evidence of a violation of minority rights, property rights, or the rule of law. On the contrary, doing so is unfair, irresponsible, and contrary to the European values that we both claim to share. No upcoming electoral campaign can justify such behavior, especially from a new party aspiring to represent the European left of the twenty-first century.

Albania's commitment to the rule of law, to the protection of property, and to the rights of national minorities is not a matter of political convenience. It is a constitutional obligation, a European commitment, and a reality reflected in our legislation and institutions.

As I have emphasized on previous occasions, including when responding to your concerns regarding Albania’s European path in matters involving ethnic Greeks, I fully agree that respect for the rule of law is essential. Precisely for that reason, however, facts must be established by competent institutions and courts, not by political declarations issued from another country and shaped by domestic political considerations.

The Greek National Minority in Albania is a treasure that I value enormously. It enjoys rights and protections that are neither more nor less than those enjoyed by all Albanian citizens and I work daily to strengthen them, thanks also to the close cooperation with the Greek government.

That is why I trust you will agree that good-neighborly relations are best served by facts rather than assumptions, and by respect for the rule of law and the institutions of neighboring countries rather than political speculation.

Wishing you success in the upcoming elections, I sincerely hope that your new party will demonstrate that new political movements need not fall into the same familiar patterns of public debate, including the temptation to rally followers around the flag through hasty conclusions about neighbors and their sovereign institutions.

After all, Europe needs fewer reflexes from the past and more confidence in facts, institutions, and good-neighborly relations.

All the best my old friend🇦🇱❤️🇪🇺❤️🇬🇷

[Edi Rama @ediramaal]

Nesër e kam radhën unë për të folur për një projekt të jashtëzakonshëm për Shqipërinë, për të cilin punohet prej disa vitesh tanimë dhe i cili nuk ka asnjë lidhje me disa të pavërteta të mëdha, që janë hedhur në qarkullim ditët e fundit.

Ndërkohë e përgëzoj lidershipin e Policisë së Shtetit për reagimin e shpejtë e të saktë, qoftë ndaj atij grushti muskujsh pa tru me statusin e rojeve private të sigurisë, qoftë ndaj drejtuesve vendorë të policisë së Vlorës.

Qasja e re e tolerancës zero ndaj çdo uniforme blu që cënon besimin e publikut, është e duhura.

*Për vetë projektin dhe të vërtetat e të pavërtetat rreth tij, më shumë nesër në 10.00. Live për të gjithë të interesuarit natyrisht.

https://t.co/fY5T8NcV0m

[Edi Rama @ediramaal]

In vain? Wow. That’s a surprisingly dismissive reaction to data that appears both credible and highly relevant.

You’re presented with strongly verified data showing that Albania is 33 percentage points below the threshold typically associated with “captured” media systems, and yet you believe that carries no significance at all?

Honestly, my intention here wasn’t to prove you wrong. I simply thought it was worthwhile to share additional fact-based information, assuming you would be open to objective and unbiased sources, even when they challenge existing assumptions.

I also believed it might be encouraging to recognize that Albania remains quite far from fitting the definition of a “captured media” environment, despite the very real challenges that still exist in improving media standards and safeguarding journalists.
I have never questioned the importance of the concerns raised in your blueprint, and I would genuinely welcome the opportunity to discuss them further with you and your local partners at any time. Just suggest a date and place, and I’ll gladly attend, because I’ve been hoping for years to engage in the kind of meaningful dialogue you say you look forward. 

At the same time, I would encourage you not to dismiss empirical evidence simply because it points toward a different conclusion. It might even be worthwhile to connect directly with the young people behind that impressive AI-based tool and explore whether there is room for collaboration in further strengthening your methodology.

At the end of the day, getting closer to the truth matters more than clinging onto conclusions that may deserve reconsideration. I look forward to meeting around a round table, and until then, I’ll continue sharing any new findings that may contribute to the discussion.

[Edi Rama @ediramaal]

Dear @RSF_inter

I am heading to Brussels where today Albania will make another important step on its path towards membership in the European Union. An essential part of that journey is, of course, both the progress achieved and the work still to be done regarding the media environment. And we will do it in full cooperation with the EU.

But since I have not heard from you after sharing the rather revealing report generated through an AI model developed by an Albanian start-up, I thought it might be useful to send you the findings of a follow-up analysis from the same source, this time with an expanded monitoring period of 120 days, covering 106,962 articles across 47 monitored media outlets.

I hope you will be pleased to learn that, regarding the familiar thesis of a “captured media” environment, the larger the sample becomes, the weaker that thesis appears to be.

Just imagine: the empirical indicators place Albania 33 percentage points below the threshold associated with structurally captured media systems.

Incredible, isn’t it?

But true.

The opposition’s Share of Voice reaches 68.2%, while government visibility stands at 31.8%. More remarkably, even within media outlets commonly labelled as pro-government, opposition visibility remains higher than government visibility itself.

Moreover, criticism of the government outweighs positive coverage by nearly five to one.

Hardly the profile of a country where criticism is silenced, opposition voices are marginalized, or media pluralism is merely decorative.

Again, in a genuinely “captured” media environment, none of this would exist.

Not a landscape where opposition visibility dominates even in supposedly pro-government outlets.

Not criticism outweighing positive government coverage by almost five times.

Not opposition voices consistently prevailing across critical, balanced, and pro-government media categories alike.

And again, these are not perceptions.

They are measurable facts, derived from a dataset of more than 106,000 published articles.

The larger the sample becomes, the more difficult it becomes to reconcile these findings with the notion of a media landscape captured by government influence.

I trust you will enjoy the attached report.

I will gladly return with further findings in the future, in the spirit of mutual respect, constructive cooperation, and our shared commitment to that often elusive, yet always worthwhile destination:

The Truth.

Feel free to click below
https://t.co/NHC1LqgciD

[Edi Rama @ediramaal]

My dear @EddyWax, I fully get that it’s funny to create an Edi vs Eddy storyline, but there’s really no room for it here, because first, I didn’t complain about the other Edi, and second, now that you’ve generously published the full transcript, it is crystal clear that the reduced quote was misleading enough for anyone with a vested ideological interest to run with it.

But truly, no hard feelings at all. One Eddy has to do what he wants, and the other Edi has to endure what he must🤷🏻‍♂️

Bottom line remains unchanged: what Italy asks from Albania, Italy gets from Albania🇦🇱❤️🇮🇹

https://t.co/PTpgWm6IUY

[Edi Rama @ediramaal]

To all journalists from Italy, and beyond, who are reaching out regarding a misleading quote reported by a media outlet after an interview with the Albanian Foreign Minister: let me reiterate, clearly and hopefully once and for all, that our Protocol with Italy is here to stay, for as long as Italy wants it 🇦🇱❤️🇮🇹

A tutti i giornalisti italiani, e non solo, che mi stanno contattando riguardo a una citazione fuorviante riportata da un organo di stampa dopo un’intervista al Ministro degli Esteri albanese: permettetemi di ribadire, con chiarezza e spero una volta per tutte, che il nostro Protocollo con l’Italia è qui per restare, per tutto il tempo che l’Italia lo vorrà🇦🇱❤️🇮🇹

[Ferit Hoxha🇦🇱 @HoxhaFer]

A useful clarification:

A journalist in Brussels asked me whether the protocol between Albania and Italy would be renewed after the expiration of the initial five-year period.

I responded by saying: “I am not certain, assuming that Albania will by then be a member state of the European Union and the situation will therefore be different.”

As simple as that. It is not a decision it is just thinking aloud and doing it candidly.

This statement should in no way be interpreted as a change of Albania’s position regarding the protocol.

Unfortunately, in today’s world, noise often travels faster than argument, logic and context.

Isolated phrases are too often transformed into narratives that do not reflect either the substance of the discussion or the actual position of governments.

[Edi Rama @ediramaal]

Hedh budallai i madh një gur në lumë dhe pastaj të vegjëlit bëjnë si të mençur për ta nxjerrë, duke thënë që integriteti i prokurimeve publike në Shqipëri paska shënuar rënie!

Po se si e shënoi këtë rënie, kur në fakt Shqipëria u përfshi për herë të parë në portalin europian të matjes së integritetit të prokurimeve për shtetet e Bashkimit Europian, duke dalë më mirë se sa shumë prej tyre, ndërkohë që më parë kjo matje s’ishte bërë asnjëherë, këtë as i madhi e as të vegjëlit nuk kanë se si e thonë, sepse budallallëku ka kufi vetëm vetveten🤷🏻‍♂️

Rëndësi ka që duan s’duan ata që s’duan, sot Shqipëria vlerësohet ndërkombëtarisht si asnjëherë më parë, edhe në fushën e prokurimeve, ku kemi bërë progres të madh dhe jemi ende në ngjitje, sepse me Diellën në prokurimet publike do të arrijmë brenda këtij mandati, një nivel integriteti e shpejtësie që do të na rendisë në nivelin më të lartë europian, falë Inteligjencës Artificiale🇦🇱🦅🇪🇺

[Edi Rama @ediramaal]

Dear @RSF_inter

As you were thinking of me yesterday, which I truly appreciate, I found myself thinking of you at the start of this day, because of a remarkable AI based source - an Albanian Start Up that can be very helpful to your mission - grounded in simple empirical facts👉 https://t.co/fDdYZY94Wk and in English version to make it simplier for you https://t.co/JJvAzcKPGb

Over 4,500 articles analyzed, across 43 media outlets, over 66 days of monitoring.

Opposition voice: 3.57 times higher than government.
Critical sources: 4.67 times more dominant than pro-government ones.
Critical tone: 6.4 times stronger than positive coverage.
More than 15 opposition figures consistently present in headlines.
Opposition mentions: 1,828 versus 925 for the Prime Minister and government combined.

Even individually, opposition leaders outperform, with one alone exceeding the Prime Minister in media mentions.
And in headlines themselves:
368 direct opposition quotes versus 108 government ones, a 3.4 times dominance.

The harshest accusations against both the government and myself circulate freely in around 70 headlines, while there is no evidence whatsoever of any symmetrical level of attacks against anti-government media sources, or even against political opponents. Because there simply isn’t.

And according to the state regulator, AMA, the opposition held 60.12% of TV political airtime in March, while the government itself occupied a far smaller share.

These are not perceptions.
These are measurable facts.

In a truly “captured media” environment, none of this would exist.
No dominance of opposition voices.
No overwhelming prevalence of critical narratives.
No free circulation of extreme accusations.
And certainly no majority political airtime for the opposition.

We take concerns about media ownership and journalists’ working conditions very seriously. These are real issues and they must be addressed. But to completely ignore empirical reality and frame Albania as a country of captured media and journalism under political attacks?

At best, that makes the analysis not only incomplete, but poorer. And as a consequence, the ranking itself biased.

That is all.

P.S. It is for another day to explain my theory of how one can win elections by doing the exact opposite of controlling the media: letting the full flood of anti-government political venom saturate the public square, and in doing so, reveal to the ordinary citizen the worthlessness of those behind it😉

[Edi Rama @ediramaal]

The renewed missile attacks by the Terrorist State of Iran against the brotherly United Arab Emirates are a reckless, unprovoked, and utterly unjustifiable act of aggression against a sovereign nation and against regional peace itself. The UAE faced again today missile and drone attacks and
we, Albania, condemn in the strongest possible terms this terrorist assault by a regime that continues to export violence, instability, and insecurity beyond its borders.

To target the UAE, a nation that stands for peace, progress, stability, and partnership beyond religions, races, languages, and regions, is not only an attack on one country, but an attack on the very possibility of peace and security in the Gulf and far beyond.

Our full solidarity is with the leadership, people, and defenders of the UAE. Those who seek to terrorize free nations through missiles and intimidation must know that such acts only deepen their isolation and strengthen the resolve of those who stand for sovereignty, security, and global peace.

Iran must be held fully accountable for this dangerous escalation and for the sake first and foremost of its own people, who remain hostages of a regime that governs with the instincts of the Stone Age while dragging an ancient nation deeper into isolation, terror, and self-destruction.

[Edi Rama @ediramaal]

I never said you measure government communication, but now that you mention it, I’m just thinking: isn’t it perhaps a good idea that you should read the reports of those who actually do, and do so professionally and objectively? It may help you, because important contradictions emerge between your assessments and theirs when it comes to the relationship between the government, the media, and the public in a free country like Albania, where, unlike what you once, and more than once, claimed, the Media Information Agency seems to have been a very good idea in the service of freedom of information. That is all.